Coronavirus: Hong Kong cases could ‘peak at 20,000 a day’, expert says, with top health officials set to meet pandemic advisers over surge

Professor Lau Yu-lung cautions against tightening rules on in-person classes or quarantine

He says pandemic advisers will meet officials from new administration on Tuesday for a second time to discuss rising caseloads

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A pandemic expert has urged the government not to halt face-to-face classes. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 1:00pm, 29 Aug 2022Updated: 1:14pm, 30 Aug 2022

Top Hong Kong health officials will meet their pandemic advisers on Tuesday to discuss the latest surge in Covid-19 infections, with one expert warning cases could peak at 20,000 a day next month.

Lau Yu-lung, chair professor of paediatrics at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and a top government adviser, forecast the increase in infections on Monday but cautioned against tightening rules on in-person school classes or quarantine.

He confirmed to the Post that the advisers would meet top health officials from the new administration on Tuesday for a second time to weigh up the rising caseloads, before Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu visits Guangzhou and Shenzhen on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the reopening of the border with mainland China.

The experts held their first meeting with the new government on July 22.

Health officials reported 8,488 new Covid-19 cases, including 236 imported infections, on Monday while four more deaths were recorded.

But Lau said the peak could reach 20,000 cases a day next month. He based his forecast on recent outbreak patterns in Singapore and elsewhere that showed caseloads peaked with the Omicron subvariants BA.4 or BA.5 accounting for 80 or 90 per cent of the tally.

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